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  • Mazdax605

    July 7, 2011 1:10 p.m. Mazdax605 Dork

    Hey guys,

    On my 01 Dodge Ram Wagon 2500 the AC quit working last spring. I had it recharged and it worked all summer with no problems. This spring it was back to not working again. I brought it to the place who charged it last year,and told them that it wasn't working again and to check for the dye they put in the system last spring. They told me that it would be visible anymore,and that they would just chrage it again with more dye in case it leaked again. The Ac was back working again,but only for a week or two at the most.

    I brought it back to them this week as we are heading out camping next week for vacation,and working AC would be great. They called me yesterday to tell me that the line that runs to the rear AC unit is rotted out,and needs replacing. Okay how much I ask. The guy doesn't know yet,but it could be upwards of $2k he say as the lines usually are stuck pretty good at the union,and I may need a new condensor or whatever the unit is in the rear. Wow I say that is pretty steep of a repair on a van that is probably only worth $2k at the most. I ask if teh rear unit could just be bypassed,and he says no. But he did mention that if I knew someone who could tig weld that maybe the line could be removed from the unit at the rear,and bent over,and welded shut.

    My question is that a worthwhile route to take? WIll the line being capped off cause troubles with the compressor? Is there any other way to get the AC working on only the front for a small amount of money? For the record the repair shop said the line in question is the high side line if that makes sense. Maybe the high pressure side?

    Did I mention I really don't like the van so much anymore,and would llike a crew cab pickup? Problem is my contract at work is up in a month,and there is a chance we could go on strike. I am prepared for this with a bunch of saved up money. I could probably afford a used truck in the $15-18k range if financing it for a couple of year with around $2-$3k down,but I would rather not at this time. My wifes minivan is almost paid for with only 7 payments left at 0% financing. We could pay it off right now with the saved up monies,but at 0% I figure why should I?

    I don't drive the van much as I have a work van,and my fleet of old school J-tin for the warm weather months,but when going on vacation,winter,dump runs,side work come up then the van is put to use. I have had it for about 3-4 years and have put about 25-30k miles on it at the most. It is getting rusty though,and now things are slowly failing. What to do?

    Chris

    Sorry for the long post

  • bravenrace

    July 7, 2011 1:18 p.m. bravenrace SuperDork

    In reply to Mazdax605:

    I've done this on numerous vehicles. Here in the rust belt, those rear lines go bad all the time because they are typically routed on the underside of the vehicle. All you have to do is find out where it Tee's off and plug it, or do what the repair guy said and crimp and weld/braze/solder the tube shut. BTW, $2k is ridiculous. You might try taking it elsewhere and get another quote.

  • Toyman01

    July 7, 2011 1:30 p.m. Toyman01 SuperDork

    Ford wanted $1100 to do one line in my van. After I raised hell with them it was only $350. Price the line and change it yourself. The line for my van was only $140. Then take it back and have them charge it.

  • T.J.

    July 7, 2011 1:41 p.m. T.J. SuperDork

    Toyman01 wrote:

    Price the line and change it yourself. The line for my van was only $140. Then take it back and have them charge it.

    This.

  • Rusted_Busted_Spit

    July 7, 2011 2:18 p.m. Rusted_Busted_Spit Dork

    Or better yet find a local Community College and talk to the Auto Shop teachers. I have had the AC checked and charged a couple of times for only the price of parts and zip zero for the magic AC stuff.

  • Mazdax605

    July 7, 2011 2:19 p.m. Mazdax605 Dork

    bravenrace wrote:

    In reply to Mazdax605:

    I've done this on numerous vehicles. Here in the rust belt, those rear lines go bad all the time because they are typically routed on the underside of the vehicle. All you have to do is find out where it Tee's off and plug it, or do what the repair guy said and crimp and weld/braze/solder the tube shut. BTW, $2k is ridiculous. You might try taking it elsewhere and get another quote.

    If I can figure out where it tee's off how do I go about capping it? Is it as simple as finding a steel cap that fit,and use some teflon tape,or are there special AC cap fittings that I would need?

  • bravenrace

    July 7, 2011 2:45 p.m. bravenrace SuperDork

    In reply to Mazdax605:

    I don't know your vehicle well enough to answer that. If there is a fitting where it tee's off, you may be able to do just that. Otherwise, you'll need to crimp and solder it. You want to do it as close to the tee as you can to eliminate future leaks in that line.

  • Mazdax605

    July 7, 2011 10:05 p.m. Mazdax605 Dork

    Will crimping/soldering/welding this line cause any adverse affects on the rest of the system by creating excess pressure? Do I need to crimp off both lines for the rear unit?

    Chris

  • July 7, 2011 11:19 p.m. 93gsxturbo HalfDork

    You dont have to worry about excess pressure if the system is charged properly. Amount of refrigerant (roughly) determines system pressure. Since you are cobbling a system together, just charge it till it blows nice and cold on a hot day and call it an event. An experienced A/C tech is your friend on this.

    As long as the system runs the evaporators in parallel there should be no issue in capping the rear lines. Remember to cap both the high and low pressure lines leading to the rear.

    Ditto on the soldering if at all possible, especially for an on-the-car repair. If you can pull the manifold off the compressor, you could also cut the lines flush and drill and tap pipe plugs into the distribution block as long as there is enough meat to tap into.

    Find out what pressure spec is on the system and plan your repairs based on that. Probably max of 60 psi on the low side and 250 psi on the high side, but depending on the design and health of the compressor, the high and low sides equalize when the compressor is disengaged, so repair accordingly.

 
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